Crowd spots fast-moving Loch Ness mystery

June 14, 1996
Web posted at: 6:20 a.m. EDT

LONDON (CNN) -- A mysterious object in Scotland's Loch Ness
has been sighted once more. Sixteen people watched late
Thursday as an unidentifiable object skimmed along just below
the water's surface at high speed for five minutes, then
disappeared.

The wake was first spotted by Kate Munro, joint owner of a
hotel on the lake called the Craigdarroch House. She alerted
her husband and 14 guests, who watched the object until it
sank back into the lake.

Whatever it was, witnesses said, it was big enough to leave a
whitewater wake the size of a cruiser's. Lacking a better
explanation, several of the witnesses said they believe they
saw the legendary Loch Ness Monster skimming the surface of
the lake.

"I cannot find a rational explanation for what I saw," said
English tourist David Neeld.

"There were a few locals in the hotel's bar and they said it
was Nessie, so I will go along with that," he said. "I must
say that I was very impressed."

Another tourist, Karen Hemingway, said, "Whatever we saw was
certainly quite strange. There were no boats around at all.
I think I could well have seen the monster."

Sightings of "Nessie," as the monster has been nicknamed,
have been reported since the 15th century. It is often
described as having a long neck and a large body like a
brontosaurus. Despite several scientific expeditions in the
loch, nothing has been found.

Nevertheless, about 2 million tourists visit Loch Ness each
year because of the monster legend.